Simple Touches
by QTshort1311
Summary: He was an emotional roller-coaster and he loved to take her for a ride. He was everything she loved to hate and somehow managed to worm his way in unexpectedly. Perhaps there is more to the dark and brooding animal of a man than meets the eye. How long can Emily keep away from the heated stares and simple touches of a man she thought she could never want? LoganOC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my OC's**

* * *

A clicking sound echoed through the hall as Emily tapped her foot absentmindedly while staring out the window. She could see kids playing on the basketball court and laying out on the grass trying to enjoy the last of the summer before classes were back in session. She wiped her clammy hands on her pants, gripping the material momentarily and sighing while trying to calm her nerves. She couldn't remember the last time she had been nervous like this, it was most unusual.

The door clicked open making Emily jump to her feet, clutching a folder and purse to her chest as a red haired woman stepped out. Her red lips curved into a smile as she opened the door further for her to step inside.

"The Professor will see you now."

"Thank you." Emily nodded and stepped past the woman who had introduced herself earlier as Jean.

The office held an elegant decor of dark woods and burgundy seats in front of a large oak desk. A large bay window to the side looked out over a garden. The old man behind the desk smiled at her as she stepped in and Jean closed the door behind her with a soft click.

Emily took a moment to take the man in as he watched her patiently. He was a hard person to read, with most people she was quick to get a feel. He simply smiled at her and beckoned her into the room.

"Afternoon Miss Jameson, thank you for coming." He said and offered his hand to which she was earnest to take.

"No, thank you sir. I appreciate you seeing me." She said with a nervous smile and set the folder on the desk as she took her seat. "This has all my references and qualifications."

"Thank you." He said and flipped through the folder, a silence casting itself over the office. She squirmed and looked around to find something distract herself as she awaited his reply. He soon closed the folder with his blue eyes looking her over for a moment.

Emily's mouth felt dry as she waited, for something, anything. He soon leaned down and opened a desk drawer to pull out a blue folder.

"You are fully aware of what goes on in this institution correct?"

From the outside one might view the mansion as your run of the mill boarding school, well as run of the mill as a giant mansion posing as a boarding school could get. She knew it was a safe haven for mutants, it had been one of the things that had drawn her here. The school gave them giving them a safe place to learn to control their powers while earning their education.

"Yes sir."

"You would be teaching French, Sign Language and Spanish. Do you already have the first semester's lesson plans?"

"Yes, and next semester as well." She offered without hesitation and he looked at her, amusement dancing in his blue eyes.

"Excellent. Would you be living on school grounds or elsewhere? We have staff quarters and you are more than welcome to live here. I don't expect you would like to make the hour long drive here every day. "

"I would be staying here." She paused and bit her lip in reluctance. "Although I usually spend weekends in the city if thats okay."

"It's perfectly fine, I just need you to fill out this paperwork and have it in before classes begin. You may move in whenever you want."

She stared at him for a moment in suspicion, wondering if she had heard him right. "Wait. You mean I'm in?"

"Yes Miss Jameson." He nodded with a smile.

Her eyebrows rose. "You didn't even ask about my qualifications or anything."

"I can see here that you are very qualified Miss Jameson, a Masters in Linguistics and Language Education, considering your age, I am impressed and have no doubt you will make a fine addition to the school." He smiled, causing a small blush across her cheeks.

"Thank you sir." She dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Emily." He said and paused in contemplation. "There is also another secret to the school other than its gifted students. I have assembled a unique group of mutants called the X-men, who help to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I offer you the chance to use your gift for something far bigger than yourself, most of the staff are involved but not all, if you are interested, might you consider joining?"

She stared at him wondering if he was being serious or not. "What you mean like superheroes or something?" She asked confused, causing him to chuckle. "I don't know too much about fighting to be honest."

"It would not go without training which you would receive and the chance to work on your abilities. I understand you have trouble with your empathy."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, but before she could speak he raised a hand. "I myself am gifted with telepathy, please forgive the intrusion."

Her lips formed an O as she nodded and glanced around the room. "Can I think on it? Its a little much thinking about crime fighting and teaching right now."

"Of course, as much time as you need." He nodded and she took a breath and sighed. "Very well, I will let you be on your way." He said and she got up and took the papers he held out and then offered his hand. "Welcome aboard." He gave her a warm smile, which she returned.

"Thank you, have a good day sir." She nodded and walked to the door. Reaching for the handle, the door opened and a body came barreling through. She laid sprawled out on the ground, staring up at the ceiling in shock before a man leaned over her.

"You okay?" He asked and she sat up feeling embarrassed about what had just happened.

"Yeah." She said and he held a hand out to her. The rush to her feet made her head spin and she grabbed a hold of him to steady herself. She looked at the man who had knocked her over and almost had to crane her head to see him, he was easily almost a head taller than her with her nose only coming up to his collar. She stepped away from him after realizing she was still holding onto him.

"Miss Jameson this is Logan, he teaches self defense and physical education. Logan this is Emily Jameson she is going to be the new language teacher." Xavier said and Emily gave him a small smile with a soft 'nice to meet you' as she held out her hand to him.

His nostrils flared and he looked at her with irritation, making her wonder what she had done wrong. He ignored her hand and turned to Xavier. "We need to talk." He said with a deep growl.

Emily was taken back by his blatant rudeness, he hadn't even apologized for knocking her over either. She bit back her words and looked at the Professor.

"I'll see you later this week. Thank you sir." She nodded with a small smile which faded as she gave Logan a curt nod and walked out of the office and down the hall towards the front entrance.

Sitting in her car, Emily let out the giant sigh of relief she had been waiting for. A giddiness rose up in her as she gave herself a mental pat on the back. That had been a whole lot easier than she had thought it would be. Surely a place like this had to have had plenty of other applicants, the pay was great and there was the perk of living on the campus, it didn't get better than that.

She shifted her gaze up to the massive castle, feeling excited. School started in a couple of weeks and she had plenty to do before then and started a mental list.

She gave the mansion one last look before pulling out and down the long drive, things were finally starting to look up.

* * *

The looming building weighed heavy on Emily as she stared from the safety of her car. She hated coming here. Picking up the flowers on the passenger seat she got out of the car and headed towards the forbidding door.

Despite the outward appearances, the interior was welcoming and well lit. Framed pictures lined the hallways and people walked around, chatting with their loved ones.

"Hello Emily." The young blonde receptionist said with a wide smile.

"Hey Cassie." Emily forced a smile as she signed into the visitors log. "How is she today?"

"Its a good day today. I think Shana took her outside to the garden."

"I brought her some more flowers for her room." Emily looked down at the bouquet of sunflowers.

"She will love those." Cassie gushed.

Emily's eyes flitted to the framed picture of two kids on the desk. "How are the kids?"

"Oh Trevor is driving me insane, he keeps trying to smear poop all over the wall. We have to check him regularly now so that he doesn't pull it out." She said exasperated. "Don't have kids until you're committed to wiping poop off the wall."

Emily laughed and shook her head. "Oh don't worry, I don't think kids are anywhere in my near future, I don't envy you."

"How is the job hunting going?"

Emily smiled at the thought of her new job. "Great, I got the one upstate."

"Oh my goodness congratulations. I knew you would, they would be crazy to not have you. When do you start classes?"

"In a few weeks, I've got some time to get things sorted here."

"That's a crazy commute."

"Actually I am moving on campus, they have live in staff quarters."

Cassie looked surprised that bordered suspicion. "That's convenient." She paused. "Wait, what's the catch?"

'All the kids are mutants and teachers are part time crime fighters.' Emily thought humorously to herself. "No catch. It's a boarding school so staff needs to be on hand." She said simply.

"Wow Emily, I'm really happy for you."

"Thank you." She said and looked at her watch. "I gotta go, see you in a bit."

The back door opened out to a courtyard and to the right of it was a garden that Emily headed straight towards. A middle-aged woman with mousy brown hair, wrapped in a robe, sat on a stone bench looking at the flowers.

She came around the front and the woman's blue eyes looked up at her and blinked a few times.

"Hello." Emily forced with a smile.

"Hello." Her mother said, a curious glance at the sunflowers. "Who- who might you be?"

It was going to be one of those days. "My name is Emily, I was just walking around would you mind if I have a seat with you?"

She paused for a long time, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion before nodding. Emily soothed her and the wrinkles on her face faded away and gave into a content smile. "The garden, it's beautiful."

"Yes it's very nice." Emily nodded absentmindedly and looked at the sunflowers in her hands, the feeling of despair nagged at the back of her mind. On days like these, it was futile to be here.

"Who are those for?" Her mother asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"My mother. How are you today?"

"Quite alright, I took my morning walk and had breakfast, Shana suggested I come here today, I am glad she did." She stared around the garden before looking at Emily, her blank blue eyes focusing on her for a moment. She reached her hand out and took Emily's resting it in her lap with a content sigh. "Its a beautiful day today." She remarked while looking up at the clear blue sky.

Emily smiled to herself squeezing her mother's hand, savoring the small gesture of recognition not caring if it was a conscious act or not.

Noticing a book next to her mother, Emily perked up when she realized what it was.

"I see you're reading Great Expectations." Bittersweet memories of sitting around the fire as a young child while her mother recited the tales of Charles Dickens before bed touched her thoughts, lifting her spirits.

"Yes, it's wonderful, I've never read it before but Shana says that I will like it. However my eyes aren't what they used to be darn this old age." She chuckled.

"It's one of my favorites, would you like me to read it to you?"

A wide smile pressed on her face. "If you have the time that would be wonderful." She handed over the book and Emily opened it up to the bookmark.

"Shall I begin where you left off?"

"Please."

Emily took a breath looking over the words and back to her mother who waited contently before she started to read, allowing her mind to wander back to a better time.


	2. Chapter 2

Emily drew in a breath as she found herself face to face with the wrought iron gate of the mansion. The ride had diminished her anxiety, and now it was rearing its ugly head.

Swallowing back the lump in her throat she punched in the code Xavier had given her into the keypad. The gates opened and gave way to the long drive. Hesitating for a moment, she pulled forward. The car slowed when the mansion came into view. She immediately felt dwarfed by it's enormous elegance. Though she had seen it all before she was still in awe. She questioned if she would ever get over its beauty.

Pulling around the fountain she parked, and took another breath. She reminded herself that this was what she wanted, to be here at Xavier's School for the Gifted, she deserved to be here..

Relief washed over her body as she stepped out and stretched her legs and back while looking around the tranquil courtyard, soothing her agitation. This was it; her future now lay beyond the large oak double doors opposite the fountain.

The doors opened and Jean's slim figure stepped out greeting Emily with a warm smile. "Hey Emily. Come on in."

"Hey Jean." She made her way to the front door, her eyes looking up at the ivy covered front. "This place is amazing, I mean I saw it before but it still feels like some sort of dream."

"It tends to do that, all part of the charm." Jean said and welcomed her inside the mansion.

"I have the paperwork Mr. Xavier asked to bring." She said and held up a blue folder.

"Excellent, if you just wait here I will go drop this off and then show you around before you start unpacking."

Jean left her in the foyer and Emily took the time to look around at the grand staircase that twisted up into the second story. She took a few steps up and craned her neck to get a better view of what lay above. It felt almost intrusive to peek around without Jean although she was doing nothing wrong.

A delicate chandelier lit the room up from the light shining in through the window, sending shards of light everywhere. It was hard to believe that this place was going to be her new home. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she would ever find herself where she was now.

Jean's heels clicking down the hall brought her back to reality and she rushed to get to the bottom of the stairs. Her foot caught the edge of the last step and it sent her sprawling across the floor as Jean came into view.

"Oh my gosh Emily are you alright?" Jean's worried voice said as the sound of her heels approaching quickened.

The embarrassment hurt more than the actual fall and Emily stood up with cheeks burning.

"Yeah I'm fine there's just a...step there." She mumbled with a small glare at the step that had betrayed her. What a great first impression.

Emily lifted her eyes to Jean's concerned ones and assured her once more she was fine as she straightened up herself. "My brother always said that if I was an animal I would drive myself into extinction with my extreme clumsiness."

Jean cracked a relieved smiled and laughed. "Alright, well are you ready to meet everyone?"

Giving an eager nod she followed Jean down the labyrinth of halls, listening to her talk about the workings of the mansion.

They had sixty students, most of them were in high school but there were a couple younger students still in middle school that followed a different curriculum. There were thirteen staff members, including her, that taught and managed all the students full time.

The mansion in all its glory had been in the Xavier family for ten generations. When Charles had inherited it, he was quick to make it into a mutant safe haven. Soon he turned to what he loved, teaching and with that came the school. Young mutants had been coming in and out of the mansion for twenty years now and going stronger every year. They were in the process of adding on more dorms and classrooms to accommodate the growing number of students.

Emily's mind reeled at the extravagance of the mansion, with its dark wood interior and fancy decorations fit more for a queen rather than mutant children.

Jean mentioned something about lower levels, but Emily could hardly wrap her brain around the three stories above her fitted with a maze of rooms she had yet to see, anything was possible.

They turned a corner and a white haired woman and a striking blue man came into view. The man startled her and she soon became aware she was staring. A blush touched her cheeks and she directed her attention to the calming dark skinned woman. Emily's thoughts turned to those of a motherly figure, the type of person you would run to after skinning your knee or who would soothe you after a harrowing nightmare. Ororo Munroe was her name though she went by another, Storm.

"Hello, its nice to meet you. Looking forward to starting the school year?" Storm asked, shaking Emily's hand.

"Yes, very much. What is it that you teach?"

"English and I work with some of the younger students." Storm said and paused looking like she wanted to ask something. "I'm sorry, I have to ask. How many languages do you speak? The professor mentioned you spoke quite a few."

"Ten, excluding English. Well, five fluently and four fairly well, and I'm a little iffy on my Dutch."

Storm's eyebrows raised, clearly impressed. "Wow, that's remarkable."

Emily gave a shy 'thank you' while staring at a spot on her shoes.

She looked to the reserved looking blue man. It clear that he was as nervous meeting her, as she was he. She had only met a handful of other mutants before, all with their own unique abilities. The oddest until now had been a boy who could grow extra body parts.

As if the blue skin wasn't enough, he had striking yellow eyes that might have been menacing if he hadn't been so drawn away. Her eyes caught sight of a tail behind him that he used to scratch the back of his head. Emily was reminded of some sort of blue wood elf.

"Gutan tag, I am Kurt Wagner." He said holding out a three-fingered hand, his eyes watching her in trepidation.

"Gutan tag, Emily Jameson." She said while taking in his appearance. "What is it that you teach?"

"Oh I am not a teacher, not yet anyways, though I sometimes speak in frau Wilson's class when she lets me." He said bashfully.

Jean looked ready to continue and with a nod excused the two of them to continue on with the tour.

They passed a classroom and after a quick glance Emily stopped and walked back. Inside was a large music room. The grand piano in the corner caught her eye and the itch to go inside was almost overwhelming.

"Do you play?"

"My mother was a music teacher, I've been playing my whole life."

"Well, feel free any time to play. That's what it's there for."

They carried on down the hall until they reached a metal door, which Jean pushed open to reveal a large garage with a small classroom attached.

"Scott." Jean called out as they stepped in to see a man working on a sleek sports car. Wiping his hands off on a clean rag, he approached them with a confident stride and gave Jean a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Emily this is Scott Summers my fiance."

"Hello." Emily said offering her hand to him before noticing the grease. "Oh right, never mind. Nice to meet you." She looked around and her eyebrows raised in surprise at the number of cars parked in two long rows. "Wow, look at all these cars."

"A lot of them are used for the school, Piotr uses the ones in the far end for his mechanic class."

"Lucy is about to finish up lunch did you want to join us Scott?" Jean asked. He glanced around with a sigh and tossed the rag away from him.

"I suppose I could eat lunch."

After Scott washed up the three of them made their way towards the kitchen.

"So Emily, what brought you to the mansion?" Scott asked curiously.

"My friend from university. Her brother went here years ago, she told me what you guys do here and when I found out about the open position I knew this was what I wanted to do, so here I am."

"What's his name?"

"Jeremy Winston."

"Oh I remember Jeremy." Jean recalled with a laugh. "Quite the troublemaker if I remember correctly."

"Oh yes, he was the one who decided it would be hilarious to put soap in the fountain." Scott said with a sigh and a shake of his head

Emily laughed, her depiction of Jeremy was unanimous. "How long have you guys been here at the school?"

"I've been here since I was a child and Scott's been here since he was a teenager."

"Wow, you guys must really love it here."

"There's no other place like it. This is home." Jean sighed with a smile.

Emily took a deep breath as they turned down the hall, savoring the scent that was wafting down the corridor. Someone was baking cookies.

"She better not go overboard this time. I swear, if the kids are wired for the next week I might strangle her." Scott muttered and they turned down a long stretch of hallway. Emily glanced into a wide doorway and saw a industrial kitchen attached to a large dining hall where some of the kids were lounging around.

"This is the student kitchen, the staff's is just down the hall." Jean said.

The smell of the cookies got stronger and upon walking in, Emily spotted a large plate of cookies sitting on the far counter.

A tiny woman stepped around the kitchen wearing an apron over a flowing white shirt and brown skirt with beads and flowers in her hair. Her bare feet pattered around the floor with the thin metal anklets clinking with each step. She looked like a flower child in the wrong decade.

"Lucy." Scott sighed, "What did we talk about last time?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you said. But hey, its summer time. Kids are supposed to be cracked out on sugar and running around outside. It gets them to bed earlier too. You'll be thanking me later."

"The only way they get to bed is after spending an afternoon in chaos."

"Oh they aren't too bad." Lucy waved off.

"Not too bad?" He gawked. "Last time Kitty spent the entire afternoon popping out of walls trying to scare me and Wyatt nearly blew a circuit breaker."

"Oh hush up Scott, you're just peeved because itty bitty little Kitty managed to get you every single time. Also, I happen to know for a fact that half the cookies last time were missing courtesy of you."

Scott shook his head in silent defeat and grabbed an apple from the counter, taking a bite.

Spinning around, she stuck a hand out to Emily. "Lucy Skybrooke, no fancy codename here, just call me Lucy. I will be your personal chef during your stay here. Well, most meals at least."

"Emily Jameson."

Lucy reminded her of an excitable child the way she bounced around the kitchen so full of positive energy.

"Do you have any allergies? Anything I need to avoid?" Lucy asked while whipping up another batch of cookies.

"Not that I-."

"Don't even think about it Georgie." Lucy said not turning around to look at the man who had walked in on the far side of the kitchen and was about to take a cookie from the cooling tray.

"You can have some later. Now scram, lunch is ready." Lucy said and then turned to the man with a pointed finger. "I mean it."

His look was challenging while holding his hand above a cookie. He seemed to be debating whether or not the cookie was worth the trouble from the tiny girl that barely came to his chin. He finally stepped away muttering about 'eyes in the back of her head' and moved to the table. He paused when he noticed Emily and looked at her curiously.

"Emily this is George Wilson. George, this is Emily Jameson our new language teacher."

"Nice to meet ya." He said in a thick Australian accent as he held out his hand and gave her a firm shake.

"Likewise." Emily nodded and Lucy moved to set out a pitcher of lemonade on the table next to the large plate of sandwiches.

"Dig in guys, those sandwiches aren't going to eat themselves."

Emily's eyes danced around the table at everyone while retracting their emotions back to each individual. Things became easier to manage when she could sort them away neatly, a preventative for an otherwise annoying headache.

"Emily, where are you from?" Jean asked, interrupting her concentration.

"I was born in California but I've moved around a lot. My dad was a Colonel in the Army and took us with him, I never really had a permanent home until I came to New York."

"Where have you lived?" George asked with a mouthful of sandwich, prompting Lucy to whack his arm with a playful grin.

"That's rude Georgie." Lucy scoffed and he rolled his eyes.

"It's alright." Emily said and paused in though, her mind racing to remember. "Lets see, Japan, Germany, Spain, and France. We spent a brief time in Italy before coming back here and then it was Virginia, South Carolina and New York. I've stayed here since."

"Wow, that's amazing." Lucy exclaimed excitedly with wonder in her eyes. "I hope to travel as much as you have."

"Its a big world out there, I recommend you see as much of it as you can."

A Spanish looking woman stepped into the kitchen; earning George's attention and making him smile wide.

"Hello papi." She cooed and gave him a quick kiss before turning her attention to Emily. "Mija, you must be the one everyone has been talking about. I'm Martina, but you can call me Tina."

"Hi. Emily Jameson." She said and went to shake her hand. She drew her hand back in surprise from the heated handshake.

"Sorry about that, it usually surprises people." She chuckled and snapped her fingers causing a flame to appear in her hand.

"That's a cool party trick."

"My hot mami." George said pulling her down into his lap with a kiss and rubbing a hand to her bulging stomach.

"So Emily, what's your mutation?" Lucy asked with a curious look from across the table and attention was on her once more.

"I'm empathic."

"Oh wow. Wait, what's empathy? Is that like telepathy?" Lucy looked around confused.

"She has the ability to sense and control the emotions of those around her, not their thoughts." Jean said and there was a mix of emotions around the table, some bordered on curiosity while others got confused or nervous. People didn't like to hear that someone could know your dark secrets. No one felt safe around a telepath; they certainly felt the same way about her empathy.

"Can you show us? Make me mad or something." Lucy bounced in her seat excited.

Emily bit her lip as all eyes focused on her. "I can try, it doesn't always work the way I want it to though." She took a deep breath with focus on the excitable girl.

Lucy stopped bouncing in her seat and slumped back with a blank expression.

"Oh that's scary." George said waving a hand in front of Lucy's unresponsive face. "What did you do?" He looked back at her worried. Everyone shifted around the table and Emily mentally smacked herself.

"I calmed her down, might have overdone it a little. She's fine though." Emily reassured and sighed as she released her hold. Lucy stayed still before blinking a few times, glancing around at everyone.

"Whoa." Lucy was disoriented for a minute before blinking and looking around. "That was...weird, I felt so...calm."

"Maybe she can calm you down when you start going off on me." George poked at Martina who narrowed her eyes at him. He gave an uneasy laugh as her eyes flashed and he leaned forward to peck her on the cheek. "I'm kidding, I think its sexy when you go full Latina." He chuckled and Martina rolled her eyes at him.

"What's it feel like? You know, other people's emotions?" Martina asked.

"Depends on what they're feeling. Some things feel good while others feel less than pleasant. I get a lot of headaches from trying to maintain control so I don't project or feel everyone's emotions at once. Its a bit of a bother."

"The Professor can help you, he's wonderful at helping people control their powers." Jean offered across the table with a sympathetic smile.

"I sure hope so." She said and stared down at her lemonade

They continued with lunch and probing her until Jean excused them to show her up to her room.

"Thanks for that." Emily sighed in relief once they were in the hall.

"No problem, its always a little overwhelming being the new girl but it will get better." Jean encouraged and led her through the maze of the mansion.

* * *

The west wing consisted of the dorms and staff quarters. The boys were on the top floor with Piotr as the floor head, the girls on the bottom with Storm and the rest of the staff accommodated the middle.

After spending a majority of the afternoon moving, Emily sat on her bed admiring her nearly finished room.

There wasn't much to be said about her new living space, but she rather liked it. The room was not extravagant like the rest of the mansion, it rather plain with soft blue walls and thick brown carpet. The basics were there, a bed, dresser, closet and small bathroom. Her favorite part was the view though. The window faced out to the backyard of the mansion overlooking the garden, rec courts and pool. Beyond that was open field that disappeared in and out of thick tree lines and down to a small lake.

The size of the mansion and its grounds were staggering. After walking around with Jean for an hour, she still hadn't seen everything. Emily remembered Jean mentioning something about lower levels that were only accessible by the staff. She would have to ask about them later.

She jolted when a knock sounded and glanced at the door curiously. Another more impatient knock came and she hurried to answer, tripping over her own feet in her haste. She wrenched open the door and yelped when the wood collided with the side of her head.

"Son of a biscuit." Emily snapped holding her head. She rocked back on her heels and held tight to the door waiting for the pain to subside. The sound of someone clearing their throat reminded her of why she was hunched over in pain.

"Is this a bad time?"

Her head snapped up and to see Logan standing there holding with a blue sweater in hand. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment as his brows knitted together, unsure of what to make of the situation in front of him.

"I- uh, I'm fine." She rubbed the side of her head to soothe the pain.

He held the sweater out to her. "You dropped this."

Emily's eyebrows raised in surprise. "I've been looking for that, thanks." She took the sweater to her closet to hang up. With her back turned she could feel his interest bordering arousal and curiosity that caused her to turn and look at him, feeling exposed. His gaze was deliberate, dark eyes boring into her with a casual lean against the doorframe. He was raw power and for the first time, she got a good look at him since the day in the office. Though relaxed, he looked ready for anything. Emily wondered if he ever let down his guard.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, sending a shiver down her spine. His broad muscular stature alone made her feel vulnerable, but it was his gaze that left her unsettled. He was raw power packed into a statuesque form. The big cat staring down its prey.

Emily's insides felt hot when lusty desires played over in her mind. Her eyes traveled over down his strong chest before being drawn to his hands. They looked rough and thewy, and in her mind she imagined them rough against her soft skin but skilled and gentle. Eyes traveled back up and all of a sudden, she felt like the kid who had gotten their hand caught in the cookie jar.

"Hello?" He said raising an amused eyebrow.

"S-sorry?" She stuttered feeling flushed and looked down at the sweater still in her hands.

"Are you okay? You look a little flushed." He said with a conceited smile tugging on the sides of his mouth. "Do you need to get your head checked out?"

"I'm fine." An abrupt turn had her facing the closet and she hung up the sweater. She lingered, there wishing for the closet to swallow her up rather than leave her here in this predicament. Since Logan had arrived, the room had gotten smaller and hotter, making Emily wish she had opened the window.

He scanned room as he made entered the room. "Bit of a neat freak aren't ya?" He looked to the impeccable descending order of books, and then to her closet where her clothes were organized by color, and shoes spaced apart on their shelf.

"I like a little order." She said put off with color rising in her cheeks.

"A little? You're a label maker short of crazy."

Her eyes snuck a quick glance at the box in the closet where her labeler sat.

He made his way to the window and stared out with his back to her leaving her eyes to trail down his backside. What the hell? Did this guy win the freaking genetic lottery?

"Nice view." He remarked and reached forward to unlatch the window, allowing a cool breeze to blow through the room. "So what is it that you can do?" He asked looking to her and cocking his head curiously.

"I'm empathic."

"What's that?"

"In essence, I can control and sense emotions."

"I see." He said and gave a mischievous nod. The arousal level in the room started to rise and she realized with wide eyes what he was doing.

"Anything else I can do for you Logan? If not I'd like to finish unpacking." She huffed with eyes narrowed and crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"Nope." He smirked and stepped away to leave. He paused at the doorway and looked back at her. "By the way, it's real sexy when you get all riled up like that."

Her jaw dropped and her mind went blank as she gaped at him like a goldfish. Satisfied with her reaction, he gave a throaty chuckle. "Also, dinners ready."

* * *

Emily had spent the entire walk downstairs telling herself to not let Logan bother her, it was exactly what he wanted. Looking around the halls, she grumbled about the need of a map to find anything. After walking around aimlessly, she finally found a familiar painting and hurried down the hall towards the sound of voices. The kitchen was packed with everyone she had met throughout the day, all chatting with each other as they ate. The thick classing of emotions made her head ache as she tried warding them away.

"Please join us Miss Jameson." The calm voice of Xavier said and she felt a soothing warmth wash over her. The emotions of the room all drifted away, leaving her head clear. He smiled at her and she nodded a silent thanks and walked to the table to take her seat.

"Wow, this looks great." Emily commented as she helped herself to some chicken and potatoes.

"Courtesy of Miss Skybrooke." Charles said looking to Lucy who was sitting next to a man Emily didn't know. He was a giant, and sitting next to Lucy's tiny stature didn't help to reduce his size.

"Piotr Rasputin." He was quiet as he nodded. "They call me Colossus." He motioned to everyone around the table. To say he wasn't intimidating she would be lying. Sitting down he was a full head taller than her, she probably wouldn't even come up to his chest when standing. Saying that he didn't unnerve her would be lying, but his kind smile shone through and soothed her fears.

"Emily Jameson." She nodded and started in on her chicken.

She speared a potato and went to take a bite and then saw Logan walk in, causing her to miss her mouth.

"You okay there Emily?" Storm asked from across the table, glancing at Logan and looking back to her. Had it been that obvious?

"Yeah, fine." She brushed and stared down at her food trying to will away the heat on her cheeks. Looking up she saw Logan taking his seat next to Storm and serving himself a large helping.

"She hit her head earlier, might want to have it checked out." He mused from across the table and tore into the chicken.

She tried to keep her cool and unclenched her jaw. "My head is perfectly fine." She felt someone sit down next to her, far too close for comfort. Emily nearly fell out of her seat as she came face to face with a grin.

"Hello chérie."

She pulled away, looking at the young man who shot her a playful grin. "Uh hi?." She said taken back, feeling uncomfortable at the close proximity.

"Name is Gambit, but you can call me Remy." He drew in a southern Cajun accent and winked at her. "What's your name beautiful?"

Emily stared at him a moment unsure of what to make of him, a small blush burning her cheeks. She didn't like people being in her space and he was invading it.

"Gambit lay off the poor girl, it's her first day." Martina scolded before Emily could speak and smacked him in the back of his head.

He rubbed his head looking at Martina. "Gambit isn't doing anything wrong la belle." He frowned and then turned back to Emily to continue.

"Emily."

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl." He said taking her hand and kissing with a wink.

"I'd prefer if you didn't." She said pulling her hand away. "Charming, but no thanks." She said and went back to her food. There was the sound of scattered laughter across the table.

"We'll see chérie." He said and blew a kiss at her as he got up and sauntered out of the kitchen.

"I think you hurt his feelings." Logan grunted while looking at her amused.

"Tough cookies, he invaded my personal space." She said and took a stab at a potato but missed and it rolled off the end of the table. Great.

Scooting back her seat, she ducked under the table in search of the missing potato.

"IWhat are you doing?" Jean asked amused, peering at her on her hands and knees trying to find the potato. This was becoming a bigger job than she had expected it to be.

"I dropped a potato." Emily gulped, relieved that she was under the table where no one could see her blushing.

"Oh, I think I might have accidentally kicked it, I thought I felt something." She said and Emily looked around and spotted it underneath Logan's seat. She leaned forward to grab it, when Logan stretched out his legs. She let out a yelp of surprise, her head hitting the table with a loud thump.

"What was that?" George asked. Could this be any more embarrassing? All for a potato.

Emily could see Logan's body shaking from a laugh and she narrowed her eyes before he stopped laughing and coughed on whatever he was eating. She grabbed the potato and surfaced back up in a slow manner. Peeking up, all eyes were on her and she swallowed back the lump in her throat.

"I dropped a potato." She said meekly and everyone laughed. She shot a glare across the table at Logan and smirked at him recovering from shock. Asshole.

After finishing her food Emily excused herself and headed back up to her room. As she neared her door she felt the excitement from the day weighing on her. She trudged into the room, kicking off her shoes and stripping away her clothes. She collapsed face first onto the bed and let out a deep sigh.

Emily desperately hoped Xavier might be able to help her. She had always been vexed by her lack of control with her powers; it had caused a great deal of restriction in her life, a thorn in her side. She prayed one day she would be able to walk into a room full of people and not walk out with a throbbing headache. Classes didn't start for another week; she had until then to get some sort of grip on her powers, otherwise she was due for a semester of daily headaches.

Emily pulled herself up and started getting ready for bed, going over her day in her head and making plans for the next day. She had a meeting with the Professor at nine in the morning for her first lesson; she crossed her fingers hoping it would go well.

As she crawled into bed her thoughts went back to Logan. What was she going to do with him? He made her feel uncomfortable and unsure of what to feel or do. He repulsed her yet at the same time held a dangerous attraction. He was exactly what she didn't need. He was the kind of guy that mothers warned their daughters of and the reason fathers kept their gun by the door.

Emily groaned into her pillow. That was enough! She pushed the thoughts of the wild man down the hall away, and focused on her plans for the next day. Hopefully it would be better than this one had been.


End file.
